Let’s talk about HORMONES! SSS Wk 03

Boosting- “the second half of the month”- PMS –2 weeks…

Week #3 Coaching Session– all about “Boosting”

Mindset
-Maintain what you attained during buffing – try to keep the scale steady if you are shooting for overall weight loss (chances are you will gain a bit of weight, know that it is just water weight and will come off as soon as PMS is over—make sure to chart this info so that you can be aware—knowledge is powerful!!)
—if just shooting to build muscle allow yourself to gain up to 2-5 pounds (you will have to up your caloric intake more than just 300cals for this to happen)
-Return to a bit higher caloric intake- maintenance level
-Allow yourself a bit less of intensity and relax more during your workouts and overall

Basically- we all know that during the second half of the month our motivation levels drop, we are typically much more emotional, stressed, and often times slightly depressed- bloated, tired, crampy, gassy, full of pains, etc…-this is when we often “quit” or “give up”…BUT knowing that it is our hormones triggering these negative thoughts and feelings, will allow us to work through these tough patches–

SO! it is like we are fighting against ourselves if we plan to workout a ton and diet hard–it takes sheer guts to stick to our aspirations during this time of the month…THUS we typically fail to do what we planned and that compounds the stress and negative emotions.

HORMONAL TIMING takes this into account–you need plan on working out less, being less intense, being less likely to stick to your low calorie “perfect” diet, etc….

NOW physically there is a ton of cool and not so cool things going on in our bodies during this time.

#1- your body is in an “anabolic” (building) mode–you have more hormones in your system including estrogen, progesterone, and TESTOSTERONE….so why not use those hormones to BUILD yourself some fat burning muscles?

This is part of why we have such troubles controlling our diets during PMS–our body wants to build–so instead of totally fighting it- use it to your advantage–get aggressive on your lifting workouts and hit some PB’s (personal bests)–trust me you will!

Also it is mentally it is easier to lift than to do “cardio” during this phase so up the frequency of your lifting workouts…maybe try a bigger split…think boosting your metabolism by building your body into a fat burning machine, by building your muscles!

#2- Your body needs a break from its caloric deficit. Your metabolism will thank you. My goal in all of this is to be able to eat as much as I want and maintain my thin appearance and be comfortable and confident at all times. If you are constantly living on a low caloric intake your body adjusts and learns how to be efficient with its energy usage and soon your metabolism slows and over long periods of caloric deficits your body keeps chugging, but at the expense of your health. Your body will be not getting enough nutrients to fight off disease, properly recovery from just everyday life and will in essence eat itself. Malnutrition is very common among women—we are vain and would often times rather be thin than healthy. Just look at the incidence of osteoporosis—which is basically caused by malnutrition. Studies have shown that in just 2 weeks our body adjust and adapt to its caloric intake and activity level. Our body is an amazing machine and learns to function at optimal levels no matter what the conditions. This is called adaptation.

#3- Boosting is MENTAL break from the “perfect” diet and workout routine—you need to take an extra day off to relax. You need to have a couple more cheat meals and a few more treats. Think of Hormonal Timing as a long term solution, long term we all need to be able to live, laugh and love life!! SO why not do it when our bodies naturally want to relax more?

#4 Boosting is NOT a license to throw all diet and fitness out the window—you still need to keep tabs on yourself—keeping your caloric intakes reasonable and making sure to keep up with your workouts. You will not go forward if each time boosting rolls around you go completely backwards. There are many advantages to working out through pms…stress relief is the biggest one…also as I mentioned before muscle building and FAT BURNING is increased. So if you can manage to get in some good interval or cardio sessions they are very effective.

#5 one final interesting finding is that during the week prior to your period women burn up to 500 calories more each day—DUH? No wonder why we are so hungry during that time of the month! So know that if you can just make it through to the “other side” you will see the fruits of your labor.

Alright ladies you know the drill—ask away and I will do my best to answer any questions you have—and tomorrow we will dive into buffing a bit more—then from there we keep on learning—PLEASE, MAKE SURE TO BLOG YOUR JOURNEY and IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS POST HERE, please don’t e-mail me or pm me, THAT WAY EVERYONE WHO HAS THE SAME QUESTION CAN LEARN THE ANSWER.

Keep on rockin’ this contest!! Man I can’t wait to see the results—

Love ya,
Michelle

Hormone SYMPTOMS

Check as many as may apply to describe what effects your hormones have on you.

Accident Prone		Aggression & Violence		Paranoia
Hyper sexual		Are thirsty		Asthma
Attempted Suicide		Backache		Bloating
Blurred Vision		Boils		Breast Engorgement
Breast Tenderness		Bronchitis		Bruises Easily
Capillary Fragility		Child Abuse		Cold Extremities
Cramps		Weeping spells		Dark circles under eyes
Depression		Difficulty in Concentrating		More frequent Diseases
Dry Hair		Dry Skin		Epilepsy
Excess use of alcohol		Exhaustion-Mental/Physical		Eye Irritation
Eye Puffiness		Facial pallor		Fainting Spells
Fatigue		Feelings of being crazy		Feelings of Panic
Flu & Cold		Food Cravings		Frequent Urination
Frustrations		Fever		Gall Bladder Symptoms
Gas		Greasy Hair		Hair Loss
Headaches		Herpes Simplex No 1		Hoarseness
Hypoglycemic		Hysteria		Bladder infection
Infection		Infertility		Insomnia
Irritability		Joint Inflammation		Joint Muscle Pain
Lack of Appetite		Leg & Muscle Cramps		Lethargy
Lowered Libido		Migraines		Mood swings
Motor Coordination		Poor Dream Recall		Runny Eyes
Runny Nose		Self Inflicted Injuries		Sinusitis
Sleep Disturbances		Slow Digestion		Sore Throat
Spontaneous Abortion		Stiffness		Sudden Anger
Traction		Upper Respiratory Problems		Water Retention
Weight Gain		White Spots in fingernails		Nympho Mania
Vaginal hyper secretion		Night Sweats		Yeast infection
Flatulence		Migrane		Ovarian pain
Weight gain		Feelings of Isolation		Stress